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SilkAir, Etihad start flights to Nepal 

                                                             2007-11-05

SilkAir, the regional wing of Singapore Airlines, has begun a thrice-weekly flights to Kathmandu from Singapore from October 30, 2007. SilkAir’s Airbus A320 landed in Tribhuwan International Airport on October 30, 2007 with 131 passengers onboard.
‘The flights are expected to cater to leisure traffic out of Singapore, and facilitate easy connections for customers from Australia, New Zealand Japan and Europe,’ said the press statement issued by the airlines. The statement also said that the new service will offer direct flights to Singapore for customers from Kathmandu and the convenience of onward connections to more than 90 international cities in the joint Singapore Airlines-SilkAir network.
Singapore Airlines, the parent company of SilkAir, had stopped flying to Nepal on May 2002.
SilkAir operates over 400 flights a week to 29 destinations across 11 countries.
Similarly, Etihad Airways, the national airlines of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), began its scheduled flights to Nepal from October 28, 2007. The airline will connect Kathmandu with Abu Dhabi, the cpaital city of the UAE, four times a week with Airbus A330-200 configured to carry 262 passengers.
‘Our new Kathmandu service will provide a valuable link for business and leisure travelers, many of whom will fly from across the world connecting via our home base at Abu Dhabi airport,’ reads a press release posted in the website of the airline.
With these two airlines, the number of airlines that started flying to Nepal over a span of one year has reached six. Four other airlines GMG Airlines (Bangladesh), Air Arabia (UAE), Korean Air (South Korea) and China Southern (China) started their scheduled flights to Kathmandu in 2007 AD.
Meanwhile, Dragon Air from Hong Kong is starting its scheduled flights in Hong Kong-Kathmandu route from December 2, 2007.

» SilkAir will promote Nepal through global network’   
 
Chin Yau Seng, chief executive of SilkAir, arrived in Kathmandu last week on the airline's inaugural flight to Nepal. The carrier, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, is operating thrice-weekly flights between Singapore and Kathmandu. The Post caught up with Chin to talk about the reasons behind the airline's decision to fly here, and its future plans. Excerpts:

What lured you to come to Kathmandu?

Kathmandu is a destination that has been on our radar screen for quite a while. This was the right time to fly here as demand has grown with a steady growth in tourist arrivals. Looking at the present response, we believe we made the right decision.

How has the market responded to your airline?

It has indeed received a very encouraging response. Our flights have been booked almost to the end of this year, and some flights are so fully packed that there is no chance of accommodating any more passengers. The support from the travel community and tourism authorities has been overwhelming. Lots of people are coming from beyond Singapore. We have seen a strong flow of passengers from the Australian and North Asian markets like Japan. North America and Europe have also contributed to the growth. The response from short-haul South Asian markets is very encouraging and strong. With direct flights, Singaporeans are increasingly showing a keen interest to make trips to Nepal. As we have begun a publicity campaign about Nepal, holding familiarization trips for travel agents and the media, the number will pick up in the days ahead. In a nutshell, the response has exceeded our expectations.

What are your plans in Nepal?

Like in other destinations where we have started operations, we want to stay for a long term. Of course, we want to grow and expand continuously in Nepal. It is a new market for us. If traffic picks up, we will certainly look at increasing the frequency of our flights. We are quite optimistic about seeing a steady growth in the Nepalese market.

What are the chances of your airline stopping flights in the future, something your sister company - Singapore Airlines - did?

The main reason why Singapore Airlines pulled out from Nepal was a shortage of appropriate aircraft. It was operating Airbus 310s on the sector. Later, the airline phased out this category of fleet. It had big aircraft like the Boeing 777, which were too large to operate to Kathmandu. Another factor was that after 2002, when Singapore Airlines stopped flying to Nepal, the time was not favorable. Now we are back in Nepal to see a lot of growth by providing consistent and long-term service to both Nepalis and foreign travelers.

Do you have any plans to work jointly with the Nepal Tourism Board to promote Nepali tourism?

We got very good support and encouragement from the NTB. We are willing and have plans to pursue some initiatives for working together in whatever form we can. We have just begun services to Nepal, so both of us are yet to work out and make concrete plans on how to go ahead. The details will come when we sit down together to chalk out a strategy on how best Nepal can be promoted as a destination.

What other plans do you have to promote Nepal tourism?

In order to publicize and explore the Nepal market, we have begun bringing in lots of travel agents and media persons from Singapore. When they go back, they will familiarize Singaporeans with Nepal's tourism products. This will create more excitement and desire for tourists from there to visit Nepal. Likewise, we will sell Nepal through Singapore Airline's global network. More people will come to know about the beauty of Nepali tourism.

Visitors say air travel to Nepal is expensive. Can we expect airfares to go down with the operation of your airline?

We believe the rates we have offered are very competitive. The rates here might be higher due to a crunch in air seats. We expect our operations to ease the situation for travelers.

What are the hurdles to your airline's operation to Nepal?

We want to see an expansion in the frequency of flights, which will require more use of airport slots. As the flow of flights to Nepal has begun to pick up, we believe the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal is aggressively working towards increasing the capacity of the airport.

What could be done to boost the Nepali tourism industry?

Nepal is not only about trekking, as shown in the international market. To build Nepal's destination image, selling only trekking will not suffice. Culture and arts should be strongly added to the list. Nepal should portray itself as an exciting, culturally diversified and colorful destination in the eyes of travelers in the global market. I feel this is the challenge for the Nepali tourism industry.

Korean Food Fest organised
                                                      2007-11-05

Korean Association of Nepal, in association with Korean Embassy, Kathmandu and Korean International Co-operation Agency (KOICA), organized a Korean Food and Cultural Festival on November 3, 2007.

Besides showcasing the cuisines from Korea, the fest also displayed various cultural shows and sports activities.

The main purpose of this festival is to collect the proceeds for the needy people of Nepal. Thus, by organizing such festivals we have been helping the people who are in very needy condition,’ said Lee Kyung Sub, the president of the Korean Association in Nepal.

This is the sixth time that the festival has been organized in Kathmandu.
Seven Korean restaurants—Villa Everest, Seoul Arirang, Garden, Khusi Khusi, Kyungbok, Chukche and Modern Kimchi—participated in the festival.
The festival saw the participation of around 1000 visitors including the new designated Nepalese ambassador to South Korea, Kamal Koirala; South Korean Ambassador to Nepal, Nam Sung Jung; diplomats of various countries; and personalities from different walks of life.